Caffeine Vs. Napping Driving Effects

I remember during my freshman year at college, I worked at a retail store, and it was the evening of Thanksgiving, so I

was napping right before my shift.

This to me meant that I would be going to work at the stroke of midnight to deal with the huge sales.

I remember thinking to myself, “I’m glad I took a nap before driving to work.”

However, I wondered what about my fellow workers who just had an energy drink or some other form of caffeine.

How are they feeling?

The answer is that they probably felt about the same as me.

However, they probably weren’t as focused as I was which is important especially when driving at night on a busy

night.

Napping versus caffeine has been proven to be better for people.

A study at UG San Diego in California consisted of 61 participants from which half was given a caffeine pill and

the other half took a 90 minute nap.

The participants would soon be given a series of tests to compare cognitive tasks emphasizing verbal memory,

motor skills, and perceptual learning to see if there is a difference in effectiveness between caffeine and naps.

Following the tests it appears that both parties felt about the same at the beginning of the tests.

However the participants that took the 90 minute nap scored higher in the tasks mentioned above.

You’re probably asking yourself “What does this have to do with driving safely?” The answer is that all of the skills that

were tested above are needed for safe driving.

Drivers use the verbal memory when they listen to sounds on the road.

You remember from the sound you heard during driving with your relatives or in a defensive driving course that

when you hear a train you know to look out.

With your general motor skills you know when to apply pressure to the accelerator to drive at a safe speed.

You also know when to apply the brake to slow down, make a safe turn, or merge into another lane.

Drivers use their perceptual learning in order to perceive what is safe and what isn’t.

This comes from the experience a driver receives from driving safely.

In conclusion napping is usually safer for driving than taking a caffeine supplement when the driver is tired.